Many battery chargers today utilize a dual rate charge sequence in which the battery under charge is charged at a fast rate for a period of time and then the battery is charged at a slower, or "trickle" rate, once the battery has reached a predetermined charge level. During the charging of rechargeable batteries such as Nickel-Cadmium (NiCd) or Nickel-Metal-Hydride (NiMh) batteries, most charger termination sequences (the time when the charger switches from the rapid charge rate to the trickle or slower charge rate) are activated either by looking at the rise in heat of the battery over a predetermined period of time (.DELTA.T method), or the change in battery voltage over a given period of time (.DELTA.V method). Both the .DELTA.T and .DELTA.V methods of charge rate switching cause battery overcharge conditions which excessively heat up the batteries under charge. The heat up of the batteries in turn causes the batteries useful life to be shortened. Another problem with present day chargers is that they tend to keep charging the battery at a fast charge rate even when the battery's charge state has changed to a charge level in which the fast charge rate is no longer desirable. A need thus exists in the art for a method and apparatus for charging a battery in order to achieve improved charge efficiency and minimize the generation of harmful heat during the charging process.